Posts Tagged surgeon general

Sanjay Gupta, American neurosurgeon and media personality. A frequenter of breakfast TV and Time magazine couldn’t have been a more different choice from the now announced Surgeon general Regina Benjamin (following sanjay’s self-removal from the post). Dr Regina Benjamin is a primary care physician. She has spent most of her life treating those who usually have very little access to healthcare. A commitment she was forced to make to gain funding for medical school.

Dr. Benjamin is understated and although coming into the limelight slightly after her show of determination during hurricane Katrina she far away from the glamour of Sanjay Gupta’s career path. Why then the change of direction? In this writers eyes she reflects the direction of the health reform currently circling the minds of policy makers. Primary care is cheaper. Primary physicians are among the lowest paid of medical school graduates and there numbers are diminishing. Pushing a higher proportion of future doctors into primary care makes sense for a lot of reasons. Mainly, the patient feels like they have more access to care yet the is less cost. A win win situation. This is already a policy adopted by countries such as the United Kingdom leading to recent ballooning of u.k primary care physician salaries so that most now earn well over $200,000.

Is there a bad side? While increased primary care may leave the patient feeling satisfied and not bankrupt, decreased investment in hospital care and speciality medicine is likely to have an impact on innovation and while it may make us feel better to have more access to doctors temporarily, a cure for cancer would be worth much much more.